ABUJA, Nigeria
The ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) is set to issue a decision on a complaint submitted by lawyers of former Nigerien president Mohamed Bazoum over his ouster in a July coup.
Since his toppling, Bazoum has been held at his residence in the heart of the presidential palace in the Niamey, Niger's capital.
The complaint with the ECOWAS
Court of Justice by Bazoom's lawyers centers on what they called
"sequestration and arbitrary detention". The court's decision is
expected on Thursday November 30.
On November 1, the public
prosecutor at the Niamey Court of Appeal confirmed that there had been an
escape attempt by President Mohamed Bazoum on October 18. But gave no details.
The ECOWAS Court of Justice
had on November 21 examined Niger's complaint against the regional
organization, which imposed sanctions following the coup d'état.
“There is no sector of the
Nigerien society that has not been affected by these sanctions according to
Younkaila Yaye, one of the government’s lawyers
The government asked the court
to relax the sanctions pending the final judgement. But ECOWAS protested
against their request.
Mohamed Bazoum is the fifth
Nigerien president to be overthrown by a putsch since the country gained
independence from France in 1960.
The first president, Hamani
Diori, overthrown in 1974, was imprisoned and then placed under house arrest
for several years before being released in 1987.
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